Burial at Dark
by Can'tStopTheSignal
Summary: At the end of The Thief, everybody has left. However, there is something that Gen needs to do.


It took a week after the Magus and Sophos had left to finally escape the overprotective eyes of his family. His father, Eddis, and Galen had all taken turns dropping by unexpectedly. They had all sworn that it was completely accidental that there was always someone there watching him, making sure that he took it easy and healed. If there hadn't been an emergency meeting about the Medes diplomatic arrival in Attolia that called both his father and his queen away, he wouldn't have been able to disappear.

Eugenides ducked into a secret passage hidden behind a faded fraying old tapestry that one of the distant queens of Eddis had woven, narrowly avoiding his lumbering cousin Aulus. His chest still hurt and moving was painful but there was something he had to do. Putting it off would just make it worse. He wouldn't get very far on foot. Unfortunately, that meant he had to take a horse. Maybe he should send a letter thanking the Magus for the forced practice. Then again, maybe not.

The palace stables were in the courtyard and were always busy and bustling with people. In an ideal world, he would wait until nightfall. However the meeting wouldn't last forever and sooner rather than later the castle would hear about his escape and be crawling with searching do-gooders. Or more likely, cousins waiting to laugh at his expense and drag his back preferably kicking and screaming.

While he was debating his options, his god decided to smile down on him. From his hiding place he could see his cousin Agape walking past. For reasons unknown, she actually seemed to like him. He also knew from past experience that she could keep a secret. He could maybe convince her not to turn him in for 'his own good.'

Glancing around, there seemed to be no one looking. Darting quickly out, he snagged her sleeve with one hand and covered her mouth with his other, stifling her gasp. Seeing who it was calmed her down and she went quietly with him back into the shadows.

"What do you want Gen," she said quietly. "You should be in bed."

"There is something I need to do and I need your help with something. I need a horse."

"A horse?" she exclaimed. Gen made a quiet hissing noise at her and glanced fugitively around to see if anybody had heard her outburst. Thankfully nobody had. She said again quieter, "A horse? You hate horses. Since when have you ever needed a horse to go anywhere?"

"I have somewhere I need to be. If I don't get a horse I will walk there. I'll probably tear my stitches and exhaust myself, but if that's my only option…"

"I know you're trying to manipulate me."

"That doesn't mean that it isn't true."

"Fine," she huffed. "I'll get you a horse."

"Make sure it's a gentle horse."

"We'll see."

Agape not only managed to get him a horse, she managed to get him one of the oldest, gentlest horses, one normally reserved to the doddering old or the insultingly young. Truthfully, the horse matched Gen's ridding skill level.

It took him longer to get where he was going then it normally would for multiple reasons. First, he couldn't use the main road and had to make do with goat tracks if he didn't want to be seen. Secondly, the horse could only manage a pace that was just shy of watching grass grow. Lastly, Gen was an atrocious rider.

When he finally reached the cliffs edge, he dismounted and tied the reins to a scrub tree. His dismount was probably one of the most ungraceful things imaginable. He shuddered at the thought of trying to get back onto the horse without help and with his wound.

Since he had no valuable sword in his pack, he had no compunctions to tossing his pack down the cliff. Keeping one hand pressed to his wound and the other clutching at the rock face, he slowly made his way down the track to the bottom. There he slowly made his way over to his pack and picked it back up.

By this time it was late afternoon and he knew that he wouldn't have much more time to waste. He followed the sight and sound of the circling ravens picking his way along the rocks. He finally found what he wanted tucked behind two large boulders, largely untouched by crows. The blue and yellow of the Attolian guard's uniform is what caught his eye.

Gen gently shifted the body to reveal the corpses of Pol and Ambiades. From his pack he pulled out the short shovel he had stashed there. There were some olive trees and a soft patch of dirt not too far away where it wouldn't be as hard to dig. He made sure to pick someplace that was shady yet far enough away from the tree roots for the grave.

It was hard work digging in the sunbaked dirt. It took him well past sundown to complete his task. By the end, his shoulder was aching something fierce. He took a small break, finishing off the rest of his water. Finally he began the macabre task of dragging the bloated, rotting remains of his friend to the grave. Gen carefully lowered Pol into the ground and silently said the funeral rites of safe passage. It wouldn't be the complete ceremony with all the pomp and grandeur but Pol was a soldier. He had been more subdued in his tastes so hopefully he wouldn't mind this simple burial. Finally, Gen began the arduous task of filling the grave back up with dirt, than stones on top to keep the predators out.

It was the dog's watch of the night, mockingly called the Thief's Hour in Eddis, when Gen started back up the trail. His shirt was soaked with sweat and every limb was trembling. It took him an embarrassing amount of time to notice the small fire at the top of the cliff and the man sitting by it. He pushed back the sweat-soaked strands of hair and gave a sigh. He made his way to the figure and collapsed on the bed roll.

"How did you find me?"

"You forget that I was once married to a Thief myself," The Minister of War, his father, replied. "When the Magus told us the story I figured you would go here eventually. Once you disappeared, it wasn't too hard to figure out. Besides, Agape was looking guilty."

"So naturally you took her to your office and stared at her until she broke down and told you that she got me a horse?"

"She was worried about you." They both fell silent for a while and watched the flames dance.

"I noticed that there were still some bodies down there."

"One was a traitor who doesn't deserve anything. The other was an Attolian soldier. Eventually someone will come and look for his body. They'll find him easier where I left him."

The Minister of War nodded. "Get some sleep. I'll take you back tomorrow."

He handed his son some ossil berries. Gen took them and remembered a time where a different soldier had gave his berries for his pain so that he could sleep and had silently kept watch over him.

_A/N: I don't own this series of these characters. However I would greatly appreciate comments (especially on things that I could improve on). I do not have a beta so any mistakes are my own. If you catch any, let me know and I will fix them._

_Sorry that I haven't posted anything recently. Keep in mind that I just wrote this instead of studying for the biggest test of my life which is two days from now. It is the written test to see if I can get my dental hygiene license. Please wish me luck._


End file.
